Whenever someone talks about scope creep I envision the 1958 horror movie “The Blob”. The Blob is about an alien amoeba that crashes on earth from outer space and engulfs and absorbs everything in its path while growing larger and larger. This is a great analogy for scope creep and how it can affect a project if steps are not taken to prevent or mitigate it. Scope creep can occur within any project no matter how well planned. In previous blogs I have touched on some of the issues I have seen with scope creep in projects. A few years ago I was involved in a large scale project ($3,000,000 over 3 years) that involved developing a software package to be used by several state, tribal and federal entities. The goal was to create a tracking software for adult salmon to be used in the field. This project involved creating a software user interface for entering data, a centralized backend database and a way to upload the data to the centralized database. It also included reporting capabilities and a training package. As I discussed in an earlier blog, this project eventually produced a software package but it was scrapped because the user interface and data collected did not meet the needs of the different agencies. But in reality, scope creep played a major role in the demise of this project. The project was not well defined. The analysis of the project as a whole was not well managed. The design team assumed that they knew what the stakeholders needed without actually asking questions. This caused a major issue during the implementation phase of the project. As the pilot was revealed to the stakeholders, all of the sudden stakeholders realized that the program did not meet the needs of their specific agencies. Requests to alter the program by adding functionality, changing data formats and other alterations were flooding in. The project was in the final stages as they began to try to indiscriminately incorporate all of the change requests in hopes of saving the project. Stakeholders were calling programmers directly and convincing them to make “quick changes” to the program. All of the code changes to the program in the end caused major issues as they were implemented without clearly understanding how they would affect the program functionality. Could scope creep have been reduced in this situation? How can we manage scope creep during a project? Scope creep occurs for many different reasons:
Most of which caused the issues in the project described above. If the project manager had taken the time to clearly define the project scope statement it would have avoided a lot of scope issues. In this case there was very little written for the actual project plan. Certainly, the stakeholders did not sign off on the project. Involving the stakeholders earlier in the project process would have identified issues in a timely manner. Allowing stakeholders to call members of the project team directly to request changes caused a lot of chaos. The project manager felt pressure to accommodate all of the stakeholder’s needs which also caused an issue. “A major source of trouble with changes is typically that the project manager, in an attempt to avoid bureaucracy, adopts an informal process of handling requests for change. Such a process leads to misunderstanding on the part of the party requesting the change, and before the project manager can undo the damage, the organization is committed to extending the scope of the project but without the additional resources and time to do it. (Portny et al., 2008, p. 346)” Once the project plan had been accepted and signed, the project manager could have managed the change requests coming in by using a change control system. This would have avoided the confusion and chaos when all changes were accepted. By requiring the change requests be submitted in writing, the project manager could have prioritized, evaluated and consolidated the change requests. This may have provided a clearer view of the impact the change requests would make to the overall project. Some of the requests could have been tabled for the next release of the software package. By monitoring and controlling the change requests the project manager could have managed the scope creep in this project. According to Portny et al., implementing the following guidelines will assist the project manager in reducing the impact of scope creep:
Have you experienced scope creep in your projects? What steps have you taken to reduce the impact of scope creep? References De Sousa, S. (2009) Causes of scope creep? - from www.My-project-management-expert.Com. Available at: http://www.my-project-management-expert.com/causes-of-scope-creep.html Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc. Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The blob (2016) Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bigdogyvr/4646077035. Usmani, F. (2013) A Short Guide to Project Risk Management Plan. Available at: https://pmstudycircle.com/2013/07/a-short-guide-to-project-risk-management-plan/.
2 Comments
|
Stacy SpringerWelcome to my blog! I am passionate about great Instructional Design and Educational Technology. Let's start a discussion! Archives
June 2017
Categories |